by R. J. Ross
"I'd like to see it," John says. Wendy is still staring at the field.
"Zombies? Like... robot zombies? Has anyone... died?" she asks.
"No, but a couple of them have lost clothing," Nico admits. "We keep everyone stocked up on clothes, so it's no big deal. Now, if you'd follow me, we'll go to my office and watch those videos. I've got a few favorites, honestly."
"Is he one of the ones that loses clothing?" John asks.
"Only once," Nico says cheerfully. "But that was his own fault for showboating. He wanted to prove that he could do the course and still use his mic."
"Why haven't you taken that stupid mic from him yet?" Wendy demands. "He would have a much better chance at winning if he wasn't always broadcasting everything he does!"
"And do you want your son to win?" Nico asks.
"I--I just--" she stutters.
The coldness in his eyes thaws a little as he looks at her, a tiny smile pulling at his lips. "Sometimes losing is a lot more difficult than winning."
"What does that mean?" Wendy asks John as Nico heads for the next building.
"I... honestly have no idea," John says, speeding up so he doesn't get lost. "I want to see THE Maximum fight robot zombies," he urges her, grabbing her hand when she doesn't move fast enough.
"Does he play sports?" she asks, looking over her shoulder at the baseball game. "Could someone get hurt?"
"WE'VE GOT A FLEDGLING!" they hear Jack bellow. "Come on, Cisco! Try not to put us to sleep!"
They hear a whack and a cheer behind them as they enter the gym.
***
Chocolate milk, I think as I look blankly at the cup Doris is holding out. They fed me a frozen dinner earlier, I hope this will wash the taste out of my mouth. How they live off of that stuff, I have no idea. "This is a super villain base, isn't it?" I ask as I take the cup. "And you're all over twenty-one--"
"Skye likes milk," Doris says, sitting down on the beanbag chair across from me. There's hardly any furniture in the room, and most of it looks like they scrounged it off the street side. "Don't stare, we haven't finished moving in, yet. Skye keeps saying that Nico's planning to come down and help."
"He probably will," I admit, drinking the chocolate milk. "This actually isn't bad."
"You should see our candy collection," she says, looking amused. "That's the last time I let Skye and Ariel do the shopping without me. They came back with frozen dinners and fifty pounds of chocolate."
"And chocolate milk," I agree.
"Exactly. So--" she looks over her shoulder, only to stop and stare at the sight of Skye walking in, wearing the ugliest dress I've ever seen. "WHAT are you doing?" she asks.
"I'm going to act as Max's substitute Mommy!" Skye declares, dropping down on the chair next to me. "Now, sweetie, tell Mommy all about it," she says dramatically, tugging me over to press my head against her chest. I choke before bursting out with laughter.
"Oh, man, that was--that's--" I stop as she glares at me. "You're serious," I say, stunned. "Skye, you're like, seven years older than I am," I have to point out. I keep the fact that she's mentally a LOT younger to myself. "How about a... big sister?" I offer, since she still looks mad. "You can act as my big sister?"
She frowns for a second before nodding. "I can do sister!" she says. "I've got TWO siblings already!"
"Yeah, okay," I say. "So... why don't you change into a big sister outfit?" I ask. "You know, REALLY get into character?"
"OKAY!" she says, jumping up and racing away, presumably to get changed.
"You're indulging her," Doris accuses me. "Everyone indulges her. Do you have any idea how much of a pain that is for her teammates?"
"It's hard not to?" I offer. "A happy Skye is one that doesn't run off to other Halls and take them out."
"She got lonely," Ariel says, coming into the room. "You can't blame her for getting lonely."
"She caused a lot of havoc up in my territory," I point out. "Mega was out for almost two days, and he had a movie coming out at the time. He NEEDED to be in the public sight. We also had to send our only healer down here to deal with the mess she left behind."
"You talk like you were the one dealing with all of it," Doris says.
"I like to keep track of things," I say, shrugging.
"Who are you hunting?" Ariel asks curiously. "It's not one of us, is it?"
"It's not one of you. I came down to get--" I stop, remembering abruptly what I had just found out. "I need to go to Belladonna Springs," I say, standing. "I need to see Phoebe Woods."
"Are you cheating on my niece?" Skye demands, walking into the room wearing another ridiculous outfit, this time with a mini-skirt.
"What?" I ask, blankly. "No! I need to see her for something completely different."
"For what?" Skye asks.
"To see if she's inherited Massteria's abilities," I say. "I don't know if she's involved, though. I just want to know if I'm dealing with one problem or two."
"And what if you are?" Doris asks. "Are you going to bring in some help?"
"This is my job," I say. "I still have to do something huge to graduate, too. If I can't handle those two simple jobs, I'm not fit to be second-in-command."
"But we were going to have a heart to heart," Skye says.
"Can I get a raincheck?" I ask. "Once all this is over, we'll have a pool party or something, okay?"
"Okay!" Skye and Ariel say.
"Sounds good to me," Doris says.
"But I was going to help you find Massteria," Skye says.
I hesitate. "Okay, I'll take you up on it," I say, touching my com-bracelet. "Century, I need to borrow Skye for a bit. I'll have her back... well, probably tomorrow, unless she gets distracted."
"Tell your father," he says. "She's going to be in your territory, right?"
"Yeah," I say, "she is."
"And she's willing to help?" he asks.
"I'm going!" Skye says, speaking at my com-bracelet. "And you can't stop me!"
"Then she's yours for the day, son. Don't make me regret it," Century says.
"Thank you," I say. "Um... you two--" I say, looking at Doris and Ariel.
"We'll stay here," Doris says. "There's a little lake not too far from here, we'll go swimming."
"Winter swimming!" Ariel says, clapping her hands. "I like that idea!"
"Okay, bye!" Skye says.
"AFTER we make sure Max is okay," Doris says, stopping us both in our tracks.
***
It's nearly light out. Doris made me stay there for several hours, telling me that if I didn't, she'd call Century. That had sparked an interesting fight between her and Skye, since apparently Century wasn't supposed to know where they lived. That I'd seen how much red tape and bargaining he'd had to go through to GET the place for them made it even more entertaining for me. I honestly feel a bit sorry for Century. It can't be easy being in love with Skye--she doesn't even realize most of the stuff he does to make her life easy.
But around six this morning, Doris gave up and threw us out of the base (after making Skye change into her uniform). Now Skye is standing in the sky, doing her silly dance. She stops abruptly, looking at me with a finger in the air. "Ummm... what am I looking for again?"
"A psychic type--you can find people by types, right? I heard that was how you tracked down all of the healers," I say.
"Okay! I feel..." She stands on one foot and slowly starts spinning. "One's over there!" she says. "Oh, that's Rochester," she says a second later. "Do you want to find Rochester?"
"No, I've already been to see him," I say patiently--or at least trying to sound patient. "I'm looking for a psychic type powerful enough to put in the Cape Cells, one that's NOT my father."
"Okay..." there's a slightly strange expression on her face as she slowly starts turning, looking curiously in this direction and that. Suddenly she jerks, a brilliant smile crossing her face. "I found one!" she declares. "Come on, Max, they're even using their powers right now!" she tells me, gr
abbing my hand and hauling me along behind her. I speed up, wondering why I still feel a bit light headed as I run. Oh, right, she attacked me last night, didn't she?
I watch her for a second as we race towards Missouri. You know, logically I knew she was an S-class. Everyone did, right? It wasn't hidden, Superior acknowledged her, she even took on the Superior name. She has the right to call herself "Skye Masters" if she wants. I mean, when you get adopted into a cape family, it comes with two family names, like Jack got. But even knowing that, I never really considered her dangerous to me. Let's face it, she's usually really weird, but mostly sweet and bubbly, right? It's one thing to say she took out a Hall and a half, it's another to have her hand stuck in your chest and her fingers wrapping around your heart.
I wonder if this hesitation around capes is something that norms have to deal with all the time. My mind goes back to the look on my mother's face when I showed up. I can't help but think that maybe... maybe I can almost understand why she left, now. I mean, Skye is sort of like what I was to my mother, cute, maybe, but with that unspoken threat underneath. If you let it, you can become so fearful of that capability for violence that you completely ignore the rest of the person.
But the normal Skye--one not being brainwashed with fear--would never hurt me. I know that without a hint of doubt. Oh, if we did a staged fight she would knock me around a bit, but she would never, EVER do something that would wind up with me dead. It was only because she was overwhelmed with fear, herself, that she did it. "I hate it," I say.
"Hate what?" she asks, glancing over at me curiously.
"Fear, I'm really starting to hate fear."
"Are you--are you afraid of me?" she asks, coming to a stop with a vulnerable expression on her face. "I mean, I did--I did that--"
"Skye," I say, placing my hands on her upper arms and looking her in the eye. "I know what caused you to do it. I know WHO caused you to do it. You would never willingly do that to me," I say. "We're family, right?"
To my shock, she starts bawling like a baby. "I--I almost--I could have--" she blubbers. I pull her into a hug, awkwardly patting her back. "I didn't want to hurt you," she wails, clinging to me tightly. "I never--I never wanted--I never wanted to hurt someone! I never wanted anyone from the family to--to see me like that, either!"
"Yeah, I know. But you know what?" I say, pulling away and trying to get her to look at me. "It's okay. I forgive you, Skye, but it wasn't even your fault. You were being used as a weapon by a sick, sick man, and I had to get you free. I promised, right?"
She nods, sniffling pathetically and wiping at her nose with her forearm. "I was scared," she admits.
"That's why I'm hunting this guy down," I say. "I can't let what happened to you happen to more people, not any longer."
"That jerk is going down," she says, wiping her tears away and putting on a game face. "Now come on, let's go find him!"
***
*Belladonna Springs*
"Okay, take five," the director says, leaning back in his chair. Phoebe stands up, trying not to mess up her makeup. She hasn't had any sleep. When one of her co-workers saw Maximum on the news the day before, she'd decided to go see what was happening for herself. The image of Skystep plunging her hand into his chest had been... well, yes, terrifying, but also thrilling, in a way, she admits now. At the time, she'd been too scared that his death might be linked to her. It was his fault. She'd tried to get into his mind and missed. She wonders if he's still alive.
"Excuse me, sir, but you can't--you can't land here," she hears someone say in a startled tone. She turns, looking up curiously as two very familiar figures land on the edge of their filming lot.
"Maximum?" Phoebe says, looking stunned. She honestly IS stunned, so it's easy to pull off. So, he survived? Well, that's good to know. She'd actually been a bit saddened at the idea of him dying. He's just so interesting, even if he had been a jerk the one time they met. She'd been certain she could change him with a little effort!
He looks at her, and then he looks right past her, searching through all the people making the movie. "Where is he?" he demands.
"Where's who?" she asks as he comes closer. He's taller than she is, but he's not exactly America's Son. He shouldn't be this intimidating up close, should he?
"You know EXACTLY who I'm talking about," he says, stepping closer to glare at her. "Where is he?"
"I have no clue what you're talking about, but you're making a scene," she says quietly. They're being filmed. A little thrill races down her spine as she realizes exactly what this looks like to outsiders. He looks like he's in the midst of a jealous rage. "Calm down, Maxy," she says, placing a hand on his chest. "I don't know what you're imagining, but I've been here, working, all this time--"
"Don't touch him," Skystep says, moving forward. "She's the one, Maximum," she says, pointing at her. "She's the one I found."
He looks startled. "Really?" he asks. "She's the one?"
"Look, Maxy, my five minutes are up, and this is a closed set," Phoebe says. "I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave."
Maximum looks around, stopping as one of the security guards steps up. "I'm afraid she's right, sir. We're going to have to ask you to leave. There are clear procedures for supers when it comes to our work, even the villains. You haven't gotten permission to be here."
"This isn't the end of this conversation, Phoebe," Max says.
"Maximum, please don't make me call Central Hall," the guard says. He hasn't touched either of them, and he looks a bit pale, but he's standing his ground.
"She's the wrong one?" Skystep asks.
"Yeah," Max says, sounding irritable. "She's the wrong one." He takes to the air and Skystep jumps up after him. The entire cast and crew rush towards Phoebe, acting sympathetic as soon as they're gone.
"I can't believe he did something that mean!" a co-worker says. "He's such a jerk!"
"No," Phoebe says, playing it up shamelessly, "I'm sure he has his reasons. But now isn't the time for this. We need to get to work, right? The show must go on!"
"You're so amazing, Phoebe."
"Thank you," she says. "I try."
***
Nico curses loudly as he sees the recording from Skye's hair pin. He should have checked it earlier, he thinks, irritated with himself. He'd just not thought a visit to his little sister would wind up being dangerous. "Max," he says, bringing up the teen on the phone.
"Yeah?" Max says.
"Where are you right now?" He doesn't wait for an answer, just brings up the info that Max's com-bracelet is sending in. "You should have been home by now. What happened while you were out there?"
"We found out some new information," Max says. "It turns out that Phoebe Woods is Massteria's daughter. She's the one that was sending those letters."
"And what else happened?"
"Skye was going to lead me to Massteria--I told her to look for a strong psychic type. She led me straight to Phoebe Woods. She's a psychic. She must have inherited her father's powers."
"And what ELSE happened, Max?"
"We left, since I didn't have permission to be on a closed set. But as soon as I get it I'll go in and find out if she's working with Massteria. I'll bring in both of them, if I need to."
"Didn't you have trouble cleaning up after Massteria attacked the amusement park? He was alone that time. If Phoebe Woods is his kid and a psychic, that means you're up against two of them," Nico says. "This isn't just some big show to prove you're better than the rest of the Hall--"
"Yes," Max says, "it is, or at least to show that I'm worthy to be a leader."
"And that little moment where Skye almost killed you?" Nico asks, since it's obvious that Max isn't going to admit to it on his own. "That's going to prove you're worthy?"
"That was--" Max starts out.
"Skye, bring him here," Nico says, "and don't stop on the way."
"But you--" Max says.
"All you've managed to do is tell us that a woman that's n
ever been outed has powers. If she was a threat, we would have known by now--it's not like she's hidden from the public. What happened to you is way more important than what's happening to her. I was going to let YOU do the right thing, but here you are running off to prove you're big and bad without even checking in with a healer. Until further notice, you're off of this hunt, Max."
"How did you know?" Max asks.
"I've got a camera on Skye. But do you really think we don't monitor your vitals at all times?" Nico says. "I've got every kid in the school and most of the Hall in the system. If something happens to one of them, I know before they do." Unless I'm not paying attention, he adds silently, irritated with himself.
"Do you have my vitals, too?" Skye asks.
"Of course I do, Skye," he says.
"I feel so loved," she says happily.
Max groans, running a hand over his face. "If you've got my vitals, you know I'm perfectly fine now."
"I just feel like yelling at you in person. Why didn't you use your external power blocker?" he demands. "That's what we gave it to you for!"
"Skye, let's go," Max says reluctantly, not answering that question.
"Kid, if you keep going like this I'm never going to let you graduate. You'll be in your thirties before you get out of high school, do you hear me?"
"You're breaking up, Nico, I'm seeing some definite static here," Max says before hanging up on him.
"And now I'm offended," Nico complains, kicking his feet up on his desk, "saying that one of my machines could have bad reception."
"What heart attack?" he hears his daughter ask from behind him.
"Skye grabbed his heart for a few seconds," he says, turning to look at her, "when she was attacked by Massteria... or possibly his daughter, since it turns out she's got powers."
"He has a daughter?"
"Yeah," Nico says. "Someone named Phoebe Woods." He watches his daughter's eyes narrow with interest. "I take it you've heard of her."
"Yes, yes I have."
***
"Skye--I can fly," I say as she grabs me around the waist. "I swear I won't run away--so at least let me have a bit of dignity?"
